We really like the Olympics in our house. We set the DVR to record all Olympic coverage and then watch a good portion of it in fast forward over the two weeks. We watch a lot of Americans and the sports we are interested in and skip a lot of the rest. But you know what we almost always skip? The Opening and Closing ceremonies. I watched both for the London 2012 games (since we had just been there a few months earlier) but I don't think I've watched either ceremony since. I'd rather just watch the sports and not the pageantry (which is something I would only say about the Olympics).
However, I have come to believe strongly in the power of Opening and Closing Ceremonies for seasons and holidays. The last two days my inspiration has been Welcome Home: A Cozy Minimalist Guide to Decorating and Hosting All Year Round by Myquillyn Smith. Today is taking a page straight from The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi (I wrote a post about that book here). (Double aff. links there)
I was definitely familiar with the feeling that seasons and celebrations would start without a real kick off and then all of a sudden Fall or whatever was upon us but I was still not over summer but also wanting pumpkins. Then I heard Kendra talk about these Opening & Closing Ceremonies on her podcast and I knew that's what we needed. We had a few but now I am always on the lookout for more small things to do at the start and close of seasons and celebrations. Let's go through some!
Fall
Starting where we are right now! We have a soft start to fall, due to a school schedule out of my control. Mid August is not when I am ready to say goodbye to summer so we do some fall things like buy school supplies and adjust our schedules because we have to but I still have a plethora of pineapples and shells out as well as a jet ski in the water.
Opening Ceremony: About mid-September (after the jet ski is home) I slowly, over a few days, pack away my summer decor and put out some fall things. NOT Halloween yet (that's October 1st, or 2nd or 3rd, depending how time and schedules work). Matt & the boys put our "No Noggin'" (from the Curious George Halloween episode) in our front yard. I switch out pillow covers to less spring/summer, more fall. Add a throw to the couch. The big signal is the jet ski coming home and packing away lake season. Then we are ready for fall.
Closing Ceremony: The three days before Thanksgiving I post three final fall foliage pictures to Instagram and that closes out fall. Halloween stuff is put away at this point but the lingering fall items aren't packed away until Black Friday. I still want pumpkins and such out on Thanksgiving Day!
Opening Ceremony: Most years we go to a downtown lighting ceremony the night before Thanksgiving and this kicks off our winter holiday season (even though I insist on not decorating our home until after Thanksgiving). After we are home and the boys are in bed, I watch The Family Stone while addressing my Christmas cards while eating Chex Mix and drinking hot cider. I decorate for Christmas the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend and we usually get our tree on Sunday. BOOM. Now it's Christmastime. Thanksgiving weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the entire year and I'm very sad that it'll probably look quite a bit different this year!
Our secondary, right before Christmas, kick-off is driving through a park filled with light displays around the winter solstice and then watching The Polar Express as a family on December 23rd. This is never the same night but still happens pretty close together. By this point we have finished our shopping/wrapping/baking/decorating and just get to celebrate.
Closing Ceremony for Christmas: I am usually taking down decorations on the Saturday before the Epiphany is observed at church. I can usually get most of this done in a day, except last year I kept the lights up and turning on twice a day on our porch until the end of February. I watch Beauty and the Beast (animated) when the boys are helping and Waitress when they aren't. The same two movies every year.
Closing Ceremony for Winter: February 28th is it for winter. I return all our winter themed picture and board books to the library. The lights and snowflakes come down off the porch. I slowly start switching away from winter decor into spring, maybe with a few weeks with no season specific decor. I'm not ready to pack away throws and extra blankets on beds yet but we are getting there!
Spring
Opening Ceremony: This is the one I most need to fill in! I am always itching for spring earlier than it usually shows up here so it's hard to really have an opening ceremony for it. We open windows, play outside, go for walks around the neighborhood to look at the flowers, and I start running again, all as the weather allows. Luke's spring break in early April is often when we are really starting to be able to be outside again. But we also celebrate both the boys' birthdays in March, one at the beginning and one at the end. Having their Grand/God parent party about between the birthdays (who knows about 2021) might be a good place to make our Spring Opening ceremonies. Also, we've done a balloon garland the last 2 years for their party and it really is a fun addition for spring.
Closing Ceremony: Again, school makes this not when I'd like it to be. Spring ends on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, in my opinion, and I will keep listening to my spring playlist until that day. We definitely have more of a Summer Opening Ceremony than a Spring Closing one! I didn't realize this until I sat down to write this post. Well. Now I have something to work on in 2021!
Summer
Opening Ceremony: Opening the lake, getting the jet ski in the water, our first family ride, first sunset pontoon ride. These often happen before Luke is done with school for the year so the secondary kick-off is his last day and getting ice cream to celebrate that. Packing away his backpack and all of his school things until August!
Closing Ceremony: Bringing the jet ski home. This is a solid sign that summer is done, even if it's mid-September before it happens. I will not let summer go until the jet ski is in the garage.
You don't have to call how you start and end seasons "Opening and Closing Ceremonies" and I'm not sure anyone else in my household knows I think of them like that. I strongly believe in traditions and routine and observing the seasons and holidays. It provides a rhythm and specialness to our lives and are largely dictated by the weather and seasons outside. Writing this out shows me that I need to work a little more at defining a few, especially spring, but feel really good about what we do for the rest.
How do you open and close seasons and holidays? I love hearing more ideas! (Especially if they are for spring...)
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